Christmas Countdown ... 10 ... Baubles.

Baubles: 

The first “Christmas” trees were decorated with apples, strings of popcorn and pastry treats in the shapes of stars, hearts and flowers. They were illuminated later by candles.  The first glass baubles were said to be made in Lauscha, Germany by Hans Greiner –  at first, garlands of glass balls and then glass figurines.  In 1840’s, illustrations of Queen Victoria and family around a Christmas tree festooned with lights, and  ornamental glass baubles appeared in a London newspaper and also in  the American Godey’s Lady Book in 1860’s . These illustrations encouraged  a more widespread practice of decorating trees with ornaments and baubles in both Britain and America. Until the 1880's when the mass production of glass and moulded  tree baubles began in earnest,  tree decorations were created at home usually from paper, and lovingly used year after year.